There’s always a moment, usually every couple of years, when HR inboxes start to look slightly more… football themed. Usually with queries around putting the match on in the office, or allowing streaming at desks.
However, this year poses a slightly different dilemma. With the 2026 World Cup taking place across the United States, Canada and Mexico, UK employers face a challenge that has been largely absent from previous tournaments: late-night kick-offs.
While many England fixtures are scheduled for 9pm or 10pm UK time, some matches throughout the tournament will kick off as late as 3am. And if England reaches the latter stages, midweek semi-finals could leave many employees running on very little sleep the following morning.
For many employers, the biggest concern of this tournament isn’t employees watching football during work hours. Instead, it’s managing the potential impact of the tournament the next day. The questions start to look more like:
“Can people start later the day after the match?”
“What if someone calls in sick after staying up to watch England?”
“Do we need to be flexible if the semi-final finishes close to midnight?”
As ever, the answer is: it depends on your business, your culture, and your policies.
It’s not about football, it’s about fatigue
From an HR perspective, the issue isn’t whether employees are watching football. It’s whether tired employees can still perform their role safely and effectively the following day.
For many office-based roles, a slightly sleepy workforce may simply mean lower energy levels, slower decision-making and reduced concentration. While not ideal, these situations can often be managed through sensible planning and temporary flexibility where operationally possible.
For safety-critical environments, driving roles, manufacturing settings or positions involving high levels of concentration, fatigue can present a much more significant concern. In these settings, employers may need to take a more proactive approach, ensuring employees are fit to carry out their duties safely and considering whether adjustments are necessary where fatigue could create a genuine risk.
The question for employers is not whether staff stayed up to watch the football. It’s whether any resulting fatigue creates a performance, safety or operational issue.
This is where a degree of planning can be valuable. Employers may wish to identify in advance which roles can accommodate flexibility following late-night fixtures and which require normal attendance and performance standards to be maintained. Having those conversations before the tournament begins can help managers make consistent decisions and avoid last-minute uncertainty if England progresses to the latter stages.
Is it reasonable to expect employees to turn up as normal?
In most cases, yes. There is no automatic entitlement to a lie-in because an employee’s home-team is playing. Employees remain responsible for attending work as scheduled, arriving on time and carrying out their duties to the required standard.
While a late-night semi-final may explain why someone is tired, it does not automatically excuse lateness, absence or poor performance.
That said, being technically correct and being commercially sensible are not always the same thing. Many employers recognise that major sporting events are occasional cultural moments. Taking a pragmatic approach can often generate more goodwill than simply insisting on business as usual.
What would be a practical approach for employers?
The most effective employers are often those who acknowledge reality. If England reaches a midweek semi-final, many managers already know what the following morning is likely to look like.
Rather than waiting for issues to arise, some organisations may choose to plan ahead.
Practical options might include:
- Allowing later start times with hours made up elsewhere.
- Offering temporary home working arrangements where appropriate.
- Encouraging annual leave requests to be submitted in advance.
- Allowing employees to swap shifts.
- Building additional flexibility into scheduling following key fixtures.
Not every business will be able to offer these options, and that is perfectly reasonable.
A customer-facing contact centre, healthcare provider or manufacturing operation will have very different operational requirements from an office-based professional services firm.
The important factor is that any flexibility offered is based on genuine business considerations rather than arbitrary decision-making.
Why consistency matters more than generosity
Where employers can run into difficulty is consistency. If one manager allows their team to start at 10am after a late fixture while another insists on normal hours, employees may quickly start questioning fairness.
Similarly, if exceptions are made for football fans but not for employees attending other significant cultural, sporting or religious events, employers may find themselves facing awkward conversations about equal treatment.
The safest approach is usually to establish clear expectations in advance and apply them consistently across comparable situations.
That doesn’t necessarily mean treating everyone identically. Different roles may require different arrangements. However, employers should be able to explain the rationale behind any decisions they make.
What if an employee calls in sick the day after a late match?
This is often the question employers are reluctant to ask directly.
Most employees will manage their responsibilities professionally regardless of the football. However, major sporting events have historically been linked with increases in short-term absence following significant matches.
If an employee is genuinely unwell, normal sickness absence procedures should apply. If there is evidence that absence is not genuine, employers should manage the situation through their usual attendance or disciplinary processes.
The key is to avoid making assumptions. Not every absence after a football match is suspicious, just as not every absence should automatically be accepted without question. Existing policies should do the heavy lifting here.
What about hybrid and remote workers?
Hybrid and remote working can make lateness, absence or reduced productivity less visible, but it does not make it disappear.
Employees working from home may find it easier to stay up for a late-night fixture, knowing they do not have a commute the following morning. Equally, managers may be less likely to notice the signs of tiredness that would be more obvious in an office environment.
From an HR perspective, the same principles still apply. Working from home is not a substitute for annual leave, nor does it automatically create flexibility around contracted working hours. Employees are still expected to be available, productive and able to perform their role effectively during their scheduled working time.
That said, remote working can sometimes form part of a practical solution. Allowing an employee to work from home after a late-night match may help reduce fatigue associated with commuting and provide greater flexibility while maintaining productivity. The key is ensuring any arrangements are agreed in advance, applied consistently and driven by business need rather than assumption.
As with office-based employees, the focus should remain on outcomes. Whether someone is working from the office, from home or on a hybrid basis, attendance, performance and conduct expectations should remain clear throughout the tournament.
Flexibility vs operational reality: finding the balance
Most employers recognise that major sporting events can be important moments for employees. A degree of flexibility can help support engagement, boost morale and demonstrate trust. Equally, businesses still need people to turn up, perform their roles effectively and maintain service levels.
For some organisations, offering temporary flexibility following key fixtures may be entirely manageable. Allowing a later start time, approving home working requests, or permitting employees to make up hours elsewhere can help accommodate the reality of a late-night semi-final without significantly affecting operations.
For others, particularly those operating customer-facing services, shift-based environments or safety-critical roles, such flexibility may simply not be practical.
What rarely works well is an informal approach where expectations are unclear and managers make decisions on a case-by-case basis without any agreed framework. Employees quickly notice inconsistencies, and what begins as a goodwill gesture can easily become a source of frustration.
The most effective approach is usually one that acknowledges the reality of the tournament while setting clear boundaries. Employees know what support is available, managers understand how requests should be handled, and the business remains operational regardless of the result.
Setting expectations clearly (before kick-off)
As with many workplace challenges, communication is often the simplest solution.
Before the tournament begins, employers may wish to remind employees:
- What attendance expectations remain in place.
- Whether any flexibility will be available.
- How annual leave requests will be managed.
- The process for reporting sickness absence.
- Expectations around performance and conduct.
Doing so reduces uncertainty and helps managers respond consistently when requests arise. Because once England reaches the knockout stages (and yes, we’re manifesting!), those conversations tend to happen very quickly.
A final thought
The World Cup may only last a few weeks, but the way employers respond can leave a lasting impression.
Handled well, late-night fixtures become a manageable employee relations issue that balances flexibility with accountability. Handled poorly, they can create inconsistency, frustration and unnecessary tension.
The aim is not to police football fans or pretend the tournament isn’t happening. It’s to ensure that any flexibility offered is reasonable, practical and compliant, while keeping the business running effectively the morning after the night before.
If you are unsure how to approach workplace policies around events like this, or want support setting clear expectations that still keep your culture intact, vivoHR can help.
01252 757359
hello@vivohr.co.uk
https://vivohr.co.uk
